The Bishop is the highest Church hierarchy. Otherwise these people can be called "princes of the Church". The bishopric is the highest form of the priesthood..
A Bishop can only be the priests who took monastic vows. This person must pass all degrees of the priesthood, starting from the lowest, such as Dacosta and the priesthood. In the practice of the Orthodox Church a Bishop can be the priests that were left widowers, however, it still need to take monastic vows.
The Bishop must be simply and solely the spiritual father of all believers, the Church of a particular region (diocese). Bishop (Bishop) is responsible and as chief administrative leader of the diocese. Each Bishop is entrusted to a Board of a particular Church area, all the temples and monasteries which are the responsibility of the Archbishop. Speaking worldly language, the Bishop is the ecclesiastical Governor of region.
The ruling hierarchs (bishops) have the sole right to perform the ordination. They are ordained to Holy orders of deacons and priests. And the bishops themselves sets apart the only Patriarch in concelebration with other bishops.
There are several "titles" in the episcopate, which may be "rated" for certain services to the Church and the Fatherland or for years of service. So, there are bishops, archbishops and metropolitans. In recent years in Russia in connection with the increase in the number of dioceses and separating the latter into smaller ecclesiastical region, there is the metropolis. The latter combine several dioceses. The head of the entire metropolis becomes the Metropolitan.
The Patriarch (the head of the Church is also a Bishop. He is elected from among the worthy of the metropolitans.
